Wireless communication has become a preferred form of data communication in the modern era. Whether it is a smart phone using a cellular connection to transfer data, or a laptop in a living room, tied into a wireless router, everyday wireless device use is almost a fact of life for an average citizen.
In most wireless environments, a user ties into a known source using an appropriately ranged form of communication. For example, a laptop user might use Wi-Fi or BLUETOOTH to obtain a remote data signal. A smart phone might use a longer range signal such as cellular, and if the laptop is using the smart phone as a mobile hotspot, then the combined data-provision system might use both local and long range wireless communication.
Vehicular mobile data services pose somewhat of a problem under this paradigm, because the vehicle tends to move at speeds that quickly bring the vehicle into and out of range of various available networks. The vehicle can even easily travel into areas of no cellular coverage, and even when cellular coverage is available, it may not be a preferred form of data communication.
If a vehicle owner wants to use a local Wi-Fi or other shorter-than-cellular-range signal for communication, the owner will likely need to keep a vehicle in somewhat close proximity to an access point, so that the signal is not lost due to distance. This severely limits the drivable range of a vehicle, however. It is also possible to only use a local Wi-Fi network when the vehicle simply happens to be in range, but such a model might result in frequent data loss or incomplete transfer, as the amount of the time the vehicle “happens to be in range” will often be quite a short period of time, unless the vehicle is parked.